The Christian PostNearly three in 10 Christians have shared their faith with non-believing friends and acquaintances on social media, according to a report by the Barna Group. As part of a new report released with Lutheran Hour Ministries, Barna surveyed American adults to gauge how they discuss faith online.READ MORE

Baptist PressMore American churches are multiracial, but still less so than the neighborhoods surrounding them, a new study shows. A Baylor University study, released June 20, found the percentage of multiracial congregations in the United States nearly doubled.READ MORE

Church LeadersAll pastors are interested in church growth. At the age of 23, I had graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion, and I was ready to pastor. My first church was 12 years old and I was the 13th pastor! The church averaged 33 people and the monthly income was $375. My salary was $15 a week plus a parsonage in which to live.READ MORE

Christianity TodayWe live in an ever-changing world in which the church seems to be struggling to keep up. Our churches are aging and losing their relevance in our post-Christian, postmodern, and pluralistic world. Our children grow up and leave our churches. Churches are moving away from the cities because they aren’t able to connect with the new neighbors and some churches are closing their doors.READ MORE

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Episcopal News ServiceAlthough capacious churches, glorious choirs, multiple clergy and the smells and bells of Holy Day services may capture the imagination of Episcopalians, the reality is that the majority of congregations in the Episcopal Church tend toward the smaller size, with often dramatically different backdrops and ministerial needs than large churches.READ MORE

The Christian ChronicleDisaster relief organizations associated with Churches of Christ are helping after heavy rains brought an estimated $100 million in flooding damages to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. In Weslaco, Texas, a community of about 40,000 near the Mexican border, Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort has delivered two tractor-trailer rigs full of food, cleaning supplies and other emergency items.READ MORE

Religion News ServiceAs the summer heat waxes and state legislative sessions wane, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation has scored a few small but significant victories. This year, five state legislatures passed laws mandating that every public school prominently display the U.S. motto, “In God We Trust.” The addition of Arkansas, which passed such a law in 2017, brings to six the number of states with public school mandates, including Alabama, Florida, Arizona, Louisiana and Tennessee.READ MORE

The Washington PostSome of the United States’ most prominent Catholic bishops will make a dramatic pastoral visit, when they will minister at a detention center on the U.S.-Texas border to migrant children separated from their parents. The unusual high-profile visit by the top spiritual leaders aims to draw attention to unresolved questions around immigration and around the treatment of migrants.READ MORE

The San Diego Union-TribuneDefending President Trump’s immigration policy last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called on a higher authority: the Bible. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in June. Yet when Bishop Robert McElroy blasted that same policy, he turned to the same Good Book.READ MORE

Director of Contemporary Ensembles
Hope Lutheran Church in The Villages, Inc.
The Villages, Florida

The qualified individual will coordinate, oversee and lead Hope’s growing contemporary music ensemble(s) for weekly services at multiple campus locations. Interested applicants must have at least 2 years pertinent worship leadership experience and a bachelor’s degree.

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